Greece looking into protection of the name Greek yogurt

Greece’s Ministry of Agriculture is setting up a working group to coordinate information on the production of Greek yogurt.

The team will prepare the technical details of an application for registration of the name "Greek yoghurt" (or yogurt) in the European Union Register of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

The 14 members of the working group will not be paid for their work on gathering the information for the application, and the term of the group is for two years.

While Greek yogurt is not protected by a geographical indication, it does fall under the 2011 EU Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers.

Even if Greece is successful in protecting the Greek yogurt name, it will only apply in the EU. Many US companies, including Chobani, produce the yogurt, which is thicker than regular yogurt due to the removal of whey by straining.

Still popular

Greek business consultancy and project management company DASO said the category, which has been popular for around 10 years, is still seeing growth.

It said the overall world market is estimated to be more than $50bn, with the product most popular in Europe (39%), Asia/Pacific (28%), and North America (15%).

It estimates the US market alone will see annual 5% growth before exceeding $4bn in 2020, accounting for more than 50% of the total US yogurt market.

Last year, Greece and the Czech Republic argued over the use of the term Greek yogurt, and Greece is unhappy with recent CETA trade deals that Greece said does not protect feta cheese.